NU women tough on defense again in rout of Malone

fred kelly fred.kelly@mdn.net

Published 5:30 am, Sunday, December 14, 2014

It was only two weeks ago that Northwood women’s basketball coach Jeff Curtis called his team’s defensive intensity into serious question. The Timberwolves’ performance over the past four games has made that seem like a distant memory.

For the second time in three days, NU held its opponent to under 50 points on Saturday, and for the second time in that span the Timberwolves led from wire to wire, routing visiting Malone 70-46 in GLIAC action at the Bennett Center.

“Ever since the Wisconsin-Parkside game (a 71-52 loss on Nov. 30), this team has made a big commitment to defending and getting stops and getting that field goal percentage defense down, which was way too high (earlier this season),” Curtis said. “We were ranked really, really poorly nationally (in field goal percentage defense) ... and I think our team took it personally, and they did something about it.

“It’s been really good to see,” he added. “The effort level and intensity level at practice have been really good, and I think that’s transferred to games.”

Northwood held Malone to 32-percent shooting (18 of 56) from the floor while shooting 40 percent (25 of 62) itself. The Timberwolves also finished with a big advantage in rebounding and foul shooting, outboarding the Pioneers 47-37 and making 17 of 23 (74 percent) free throws to Malone’s 6 of 13 (46 percent).

“That’s one (stat) we look at — we do want to make more (free throws) than our opponents attempt,” Curtis said. “ ... The stats I really look at are field goal percentage defense and rebounds and limiting offensive rebounds (by our opponents). We’ve done that the last two games, and I think the scores have reflected that.”

Lauren Robak continued her hot streak for the Timberwolves, leading the way with 18 points and hitting 6 of 6 free throws. Over NU’s past four games, Robak has averaged 20 points per contest and is 38 of 43 from the stripe during that stretch.

Wylie said that her team is playing with confidence and chemistry of late.

“We’ve been really trying to come out with a lot more energy and a lot more focus. We’ve been trying to drill that (mindset) in every day at practice ... and with everything that we do on and off the court,” said Wylie. “ ... (And on the court), we all know each other’s strengths and skill sets, so recognizing that, we can play off of each other.

“We know who’s good at what ... and I think that really helps. We know how each other play,” she added.

Northwood got off to a great start, getting four straight defensive stops and hitting its first three shots on the way to an early 9-2 lead. The Timberwolves eventually built a 22-9 lead on five consecutive points by Nurenberg before the Pioneers went on an 8-1 run to cut it to 23-17.

Robak stopped that surge with a backdoor layup followed by a 3-point play which sparked a 14-4 run to end the half, sending NU into the break with a 37-21 lead.

The Timberwolves then scored the first seven points of the second half to go up 44-21 and went on to lead by as much as 59-30 with 11:17 to play. Malone got no closer than 14 the rest of the way.

“I thought we were aggressive off the (dribble) tonight, and we took advantage in transition, and our defense generated some offense for us,” said Curtis. “ ... Our guards did a great job of attacking.

“ ... And I thought tonight our defensive game plan was very well-executed,” he added. “Our players were all on the same page, and we took (Malone) away from what they wanted to do. ... Back-to-back games of holding teams to under 50 points is exactly what we like to see.”

The Timberwolves (5-3, 3-1) have won three of their last four, with their only loss in that span coming by four points on the road at No. 8 Wayne State. NU will head back to Wayne State next weekend for games against Bellarmine and Salem International in a two-day tournament.

“We’re off to a good start in league play. That’s what we wanted, and our team has really responded,” said Curtis. “Our next two games are both (against regional opponents), so they’re very big games for us as well.

“ ... We’ve had a very tough schedule ... and I really like how our team has stepped up to the challenge,” he added.